Euro Basketball 2007...Re-caps ...Wins and Losses

[jack daniel 999 27]

Israel's Biggest Test

By Cindy Garcia-Bennett

11.09.2007

 

Spain have already clinched a place in the quarter-finals and their opponents today, Israel, have a chance of joining them.

 

Before Zvi Sherf's men even run out onto the court, though, other results must go their way for their game against Spain to mean anything.

 

Russia must beat Croatia and Greece must defeat Portugal. If that happens, then Israel would advance to the last eight with a victory over Spain.

 

Would anyone give the Israelis a chance against the world champions?

 

They should, especially considering what happened two years ago when the Israelis beat Spain in Novi Sad, 85-77, in group play.

 

Also consider that Israel have already upset Croatia in this tournament.

 

However, the likelihood is that they will not advance and it is largely down to their surprise defeat against Portugal two days ago.

 

Last result: Spain beat Russia 81-69 while Israel lost to Portugal 94-85.

 

Key match-up: Pau Gasol v Lior Eliyahu. Gasol is arguably the most dominant player here in Spain, averaging 19.8 points per game. Eliyahu is young, but is an amazing talent. He was the only bright spot against Portugal.

 

Key Statistics: Israel were outrebounded 45-25 against Portugal and must improve in that department.

 

X-Factor: Eliyahu had his best game of the tournament against Portugal, scoring a game-high 29 points and hauling nine rebounds. The Maccabi Tel Aviv forward will be hoping for another big performance.

 

Speaking out: "We have found it difficult against Israel in our past games and they always give us problems. On Sunday they weren't expecting to lose against Portugal. They have a good group and we have to take this game with all seriousness. For us, our main aim is to finish top of our group but we have to take it one step at a time. We cannot already think that we have done it all, we must do our job on the court." Spain captain Carlos Jimenez.

[jack daniel 999 27]

Russia Want To Finish On Top

By Simon Wilkinson

11.09.2007

 

Russia (3-1) go into their final qualifying round game against Croatia (2-2) knowing they have already booked their place in the last eight.

 

However, they will have all the motivation they need to go out and win as there is still a chance for them to secure top spot in Group E and guarantee themselves an advantageous draw in the quarter-finals.

 

As for Croatia, they face some uncertainty as both Portugal and Israel could still snap a place in the next round at their expense.

 

Therefore, Jasmin Repesa's men must go into this clash against Russia thinking that a win is the only result that guarantees their place in the quarter-finals.

 

Last time out: Hosts Spain handed Russia their first loss of the competition on Sunday, beating them 81-69 and forcing Andrei Kirilenko & Co to play a style of basketball which was pretty much the opposite of what coach David Blatt wanted to see. Croatia meanwhile were beaten 81-78 by defending champions Greece as Vasileios Spanoulis hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer after Marko Popovic had tied the game at 78-78 on a pair of free-throws with seven secondds left.

 

Key Match-up: Mario Kasun v Aleksey Savrasenko and Nikita Morgunov. Kasun has been a beast inside for Croatia averaging 13.8 points and 5.8 rebounds. Savrasenko and Morgunov will have to try their best to prevent him from getting too many offensive rebounds and that will be a tough task as the Russian pair are only combining for five boards a game. Morgunov though might be a handful for Kasun at the other end of the court as he has provided a huge offensive boost off the bench for Croatia lately.

 

X-Factor: The play of two key guards. Russia's J.R Holden has had a mixed tournament so far but it hasn't affected his team too much - yet. He has had two good outings and three quiet (if not sub-par) performances, including the last two games. Meanwhile, Zoran Planinic hasn't exactly been on fire for Croatia. He hasn't had any particularly bad games but neither has he had a stunning one either.

 

Key Statistics: Marko Popovic is Croatia's second leading scorer with 12.8 points per game despite having made just one two-point field goal - and attempted a total of eight - so far in the tournament. He has hit on 15 of 39 attempts from three-point range (38.5%) and is a very reliable free-throw shooter (made 17 of 20 for 85%).

 

Sounding off: "I'm a little frustrated. I think we played stupid in the second half. We took one on the chin, but we have to come back against Croatia." - Russia guard J.R Holden after his team's defeat against world champions and looking ahead to today

[jack daniel 999 27]

NBA Players Participating in EuroBasket 2007

Posted Sep 11 2007 7:57AM

 

The following players are under contract with NBA teams and are representing their countries in EuroBasket 2007.

 

France

Yakhouba Diawara - Nuggets

Tony Parker - Spurs

Boris Diaw - Suns

Ronny Turiaf - Lakers

 

Germany

Dirk Nowitzki

 

Italy Marco Belinelli - Warriors

Andrea Bargnani - Raptors

 

Latvia

Andris Biedrins - Warriors

 

Lithuania

Sarunas Jasikevicius - Warriors

 

Russia

Andrei Kirilenko - Jazz

Viktor Khryapa - Bulls

 

Serbia

Marko Jaric - Timberwolves

Darko Milicic - Grizzlies

 

Slovenia

Rasho Nesterovic - Raptors

Uros Slokar - Raptors

 

Spain

Pau Gasol - Grizzlies

Juan Carlos Navarro - Grizzlies

Jose Calderon - Raptors

Sergio Rodriguez - Blazers

Jorge Garbajosa - Raptors

 

Turkey

Mehmet Okur - Jazz

Hedo Turkoglu - Magic

 

Other Players with NBA connections:

 

Marc Gasol - Spain - drafted by Lakers in 2007

Damir Markota - Croatia - free agent - recently released by Bucks

Vasileios Spanoulis - Greece - recently released by Spurs

Lior Eliyahu - Israel - drafted by Magic in 2006 - rights traded to Rockets

Yotam Halperin - drafted by Sonics in 2006

 

http://www.nba.com/nba_euro_070910.html

[jack daniel 999 27]

Good News, Bad News: Day Seven

By Yarone Arbel

11 September 2007

 

Seven days is in the books now and the quarterfinals are beginning to come into focus.

 

As usual few things are crystal clear but still, the good news has continued for teams like Slovenia and the bad news has gotten worse for the likes of Germany and Turkey.

 

The Good News

 

Slovenia's (almost) perfect run- Germany was very soft on defense last night, and that was one of the reasons Slovenia won so easily, but nobody can take credit from the Slovenians understanding that taking what you are given is sometimes an art in and of itself. After leading 13-7 early, Slovenia went on a 17-2 run through the end of the first quarter, and that run was close to perfection. Four out of five from the floor and eight out of nine free throws sank the German submarine. Five of the seven Slovenians who were on court in those minutes took part in that scoring run. Points were collected from the charity stripe, behind and inside the arc.

 

A Gigli run- Italy's former number one draft pick, Andrea Bargnani, gets a lot of attention but there's another big guy on the team, who's similar to that first pick in his game and worth a look. Angelo Gigli of Benetton Treviso is a 207 cm forward who can hurt you from the inside and the outside but can also help in other fields. Turkey felt it to the bone. Halfway through the third, down by ten, 39-49, Gigli started the Italian run with a dunk which he followed with a long range shot. After Marco Belinelli helped with three points of his own Gigli made a block, drew the third foul from Mehmet Okur and added two more from the line. Then it was time for a defensive rebound, and two more points at the other end. A total of nine points, one block and one rebound in the 12-2 Italian run which tied the game for the first time since 0-0. Gigli, almost by himself, turned a double-digit margin game into a new game, in three minutes. Italy won and survived for now.

 

The Bad News

 

Big subs- A minute inside the game with Slovenia the German forward, Ademola Okulaja scored a three-pointer and his team took a 3-2 lead, it would be it's first and last. Four minutes later it was still ok. Slovenia led only 13-7, but then coach Dirk Bauermann decided to change things. Rarely do we see coaches change almost the entire line-up but Bauermann changed everything, except the presence of the great Dirk, after which came the deluge as Slovenia made a 19-2 run that eventually decided the game. The next sub of Bauermann was to take out Dirk himself, but that was already when Slovenia held a 27-9 lead. Game over. Move on. "Games like that, as bad as they are, don't define who you are and what you are," said Bauermann after the game. "What defines you is the ability to bounce back, and we will bounce back on the next game." Bauermann, a very good and knowledgeable coach, was probably wrong with those subs but he was 100% right with his comment.

 

Shot selection- This was an issue for the Turkish team since day one here, but in the overtime against Italy it cost them the game. Ibrahim Kutluay tried to beat the buzzer with a three-point shot that could have won the game, but that was a good shot - totally open in the corner for as great a great shooter as Ibo. That's something you want to have. The problem was in the overtime. Engin Atsur opened the extra time with a three-point shot that went in, and gave Turkey their last lead of the night, but he followed that with a miss from the same range, a turnover, and watched Turkoglu and Mehmet Okur force shots and miss from long range as well. Turkey scored only five points in overtime, and none in the last 3:40 minutes.

[jack daniel 999 27]

Croatia Unable To Seal Fate

By Simon Wilkinson

11 September 2007

 

Russia used a 15-4 run in a six-minute span late on to turn a close game into a route, as they beat Croatia 83-70.

 

David Blatt

[jack daniel 999 27]

11 September 2007

Greece Send Valiant Portugal Home

 

European champions Greece went on a decisive run at the start of the second quarter en route to an 85-67 win against Portugal on Tuesday at the EuroBasket.

 

Portugal led 17-15 with two minutes to go in the first quarter but Greece hit them with a 16-2 run over the next seven minutes to take command.

 

The Portuguese never controlled Dimos Ntikoudis, who led the Greeks in scoring with 17

points and nine rebounds.

 

"We played the game really tough," said Greek captain Michail Kakiouzis, who contributed eight points.

 

"And if we play the rest of the games like this, we won't have any problems.

 

"Game by game, we're getting better, we're finding solutions on offense and that helped us on defense today, too. I hope and I think we will play better in the next games.

 

"We have really big confidence right now."

 

Despite trailing 45-34 at half-time, Portugal never gave up and cut the deficit to 45-37 early in the third quarter but the Greeks replied with a 6-0 run to stamp their authority on the contest.

 

Paolo Cunha's jumper with three minutes to go in the quarter gave Portugal a glimmer of hope, cutting the deficit to 54-47, but that soon faded away with Greece hitting them with a 10-0 run.

 

Greece led by as many as 21 points (75-54) with less than five minutes remaining but suffered a setback with Michailis Pelekanos having to leave the game after sustaining an ankle injury.

 

Questions about his fitness will now worry the Greeks as they prepare for the quarter-finals.

 

Greece were superior shooting the ball.

 

They were 29 of 48 (60%) from the floor while their opponents were 21 of 58 (36%).

 

Greece outrebounded Portugal 37 to 24.

 

Joao Santos had a team-high 17 points in defeat.

 

Portugal, because of the defeat, will not advance to the quarter-finals.

 

Portuguese forward Joao Gomes, who had tryouts with NBA clubs before this year's NBA draft, said: "We knew it was going to be a tough game against a team like Greece, but we played well for a while and we're proud of our performance throughout this tournament.

 

"To make it to the second phase of the competition is a big deal for Portuguese basketball and hopefully it can help the sport grow."

[jack daniel 999 27]

Late Push Boosts Spain Over Israel

By David Hein

11 September 2007

 

Pau Gasol put on an MVP showing with 26 points and seven rebounds in just 18 minutes as world champions Spain overcame a motivated Israel 99-73 to clinch first place in Group E of the 2007 EuroBasket.

 

Spain scored the first 19 points of the fourth quarter to blow the game wide open in front of the home fans in Madrid.

 

Jose Calderon scored all 15 of his points in the first half and Alex Mumbru and Jorge Garbajosa both tallied 12 points as the tournament hosts improved to 4-1 and passed Russia atop the group.

 

"We have achieved our aim which was to finish top of our group. We knew we had to play three tough games in the qualifying round and we've had to work hard to beat all of our opponents, including Israel tonight," said Gasol.

 

"It was a very difficult match. Israel always gives us a hard time and this time was no exception," added Calderon. "It took us time to get in the game, but once we took over it was our game."

 

The victory also means that Croatia will join Spain, Russia and Greece in the quarter-finals.

 

With a victory, Israel would have advanced to the quarter-finals for the first time since taking seventh in 2003 and just the second time since 1983.

 

"We showed everybody that we can match with the world champions. Spain is the best team here, and for more than 25 minutes we were in the game," said Israel forward Ido Kozikaro.

 

Lior Eliyahu, Meir Tapiro and Matan Naor each scored 15 points in a losing cause and combined for 12 rebounds, 11 assists and five steals. Yaniv Green collected nine points and 10 rebounds.

 

Pepu Hernandez made two changes to his starting lineup, as Sergio Rodriguez and Benri Rodriguez replaced Calderon and Rudy Fernandez, respectively.

 

And the Israelis used a poor start by the hosts to jump out to a 12-4 lead four minutes into the game.

 

Gasol scored 10 points in the first quarter as Spain trimmed the deficit to four points, but Tapiro and Eliyahu both hit three-pointers in the final 25 seconds to push the lead to 29-19 after the first period.

 

A Tapiro long bomb extended the advantage to 32-19 early in the second, but it was Calderon's turn to take over as the Toronto Raptors play-maker scored 10 points in the period, and Gasol's turn-around jumper evened things at 43-43.

 

Israel, however, remained ahead 48-47 at the break.

 

Gasol continued in the second half where he left off in the first, scoring seven of Spain's first nine points as they pulled ahead 56-52 and Garbajosa drained three three-pointers over a three-minute stretch to extend the advantage to 69-60.

 

Israel would not go down without a fight, and Naor hit three from downtown to keep Zvi Sherf's team within 74-68 after three periods.

 

Israel's luck, however, had run out in the fourth quarter as they failed to score in the first 7:40 of the period and Spain surged ahead 93-68 with the first 19 points of the final quarter.

[jack daniel 999 27]

Turkey Play For Honour

By Simon Wilkinson

12.09.2007

 

France (2-2) and Turkey (0-4) meet up in the only game that doesn't hold any significance other than honour on the last day of the qualifying round.

 

Les Bleus will finish third in Group F regardless of the outcome of this game - and others on the day - as they have beaten both Italy (1-3) and Germany (1-3) and would therefore hold the tiebreaker over both of them.

 

Claude Bergeaud's men have already booked their place in the quarter-finals where Russia await them.

 

Meanwhile Turkey will try to get over a heartbreaking overtime loss to Italy on Monday. That result meant they will miss out on the quarter-finals of the competition for the third time in a row. Pride is what is at stake here for Bogdan Tanjevic's side. They would like to leave having won their last game.

 

Last Time Out: France lost to Lithuania 88-73 after trailing for the entire game, while Turkey fell short against Italy 84-75 after overtime.

 

Key Match-up: Hidayet Turkoglu v Boris Diaw. Turkoglu stepped up for Turkey in this tournament. He's averaging 21.2 ppg, has scored in double-digits in every game and lit up the Azzurri for 34 points

[jack daniel 999 27]

Do Or Die For Germans, Italians

By David Hein

12 September 2007

 

A place in the quarter-finals of EuroBasket 2007 - and possible qualification for the 2008 Olympics - rests in the balance today as Germany and Italy face off in Group F.

 

The winners will reach the last eight while the losers are left to contemplate what happened along the way, meaning that either the 2005 silver medallists Germany or 2003 bronze medallists Italy will book their flights home.

 

Last time out: Italy remained alive for the quarter-finals with a thrilling 84-75 over-time victory over Turkey. Germany must find a way to bounce back from an atrocious 77-47 loss to Slovenia.

 

Key match-up: Andrea Bargnani v Dirk Nowitzki. The NBA MVP will need to have a monster game as the Germans struggle to get scoring from other players. And Bargnani will likely be given the duties to try and slow him down.

 

X-factor: Against Turkey, Angelo Gigli had by far his best game of the tournament

[jack daniel 999 27]

Group's Top Spot At Stake

By Cindy Garcia-Bennett

12 September 2007

 

Slovenia (4-0) and Lithuania (4-0) meet today in a battle of the remaining two unbeaten teams at the EuroBasket.

 

With top spot in Group F up for grabs, the Slovenians will be eager to maintain their impressive run but face their biggest challenge against Sarunas Jasikevicius and Lithuania, a team bringing back memories of 2003 when they won gold in Sweden.

 

Slovenia met Lithuania at the Acropolis Tournament earlier this summer, where Rimantas Kaukenas and Robertas Javtokas did most of the damage in an 87-72 win for Ramunas Butautas's side.

 

Last result: Lithuania beat France 88-73 and Slovenia demolished Germany 77-47.

 

Key Match-up: Sarunas Jasikevicius v Goran Dragic and Jaka Lakovic. According to team-mate Ramunas Siskauskas, Jasikevicius is "almost half our team". Enough said.

 

Key Statistics: Lithuania have out-rebounded all their opponents so far in the tournament with their guards particularly impressive at hitting the boards.

 

X-factor: Erazem Lorbek. Sometimes he is a demon inside who can occasionally pop out to hit three-pointers, while at other times he is anonymous. A good Lorbek makes Slovenia far more dangerous.

 

Speaking out: "They're a great team. We already played them once. They're just so disciplined. They have a lot of big names but they're also just really good as a team" - Lithuania's Linas Kleiza.

[jack daniel 999 27]

Good News, Bad News: Day Eight

By Yarone Arbel

12 September 2007

 

Good News

 

Greece

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Herber Heroics Save Germany

By David Hein

12 September 2007

 

Italy held Dirk Nowitzki in check but couldn't have expected Johannes Herber to score 10 of his 15 points in the third quarter and lead Germany to a 67-58 victory as the 2005 silver medallists advanced to the 2007 EuroBasket quarter-finals.

 

Nowitzki had just 15 points - well under his average of 26 points - and 10 rebounds, but Germany received plenty of support from their bench players, who tallied 29 points.

 

Jan Jagla came on to collect five points and 10 rebounds while Steffen Hamann had 10 points.

 

"We needed this win, we all played together. Sometimes things go your way when you work hard, you get your reward. I feel today I got my reward for the hard work I put in," said Herber, who had tallied 16 points in his first five games. "I made a few shots which helped my confidence and the team's confidence."

 

With the victory, Germany reached the quarter-finals for the fourth time in the last five EuroBasket competitions.

 

It also kept alive Nowitzki's dream of playing in the 2008 Olympics.

 

He has continually said he would retire from the national team should Germany not reach the Beijing Games next summer.

 

The 2003 bronze medallists Italy, who were out-rebounded 52-31 and held to just 32% shooting (18-of-56), leave Madrid with their heads down.

 

"It's a big disappointment for us," said Belinelli, who paced the Italians with 25 points.

 

"Rebounds have been a problem for us throughout the tournament. I think we lost this game because of that. We gave them more chances to score. My aim coming into this tournament was bringing Italy to the final eight. But I was unable to accomplish that. So it's very frustrating."

 

The early stages saw a see-saw affair until Bellinelli drained back-to-back three-pointers in the final moments of the first quarter to give Italy an 18-12 lead after one period.

 

Germany shut down the Italian offense and worked their way back into the game, evening things at 19-19 half-way through the second period.

 

Bauermann's troops didn't allow Italy to score a basket until Stefano Mancinelli's jumper 14 seconds before half-time.

 

The teams went into the locker-rooms dead-locked at 27-27.

 

With the game tied 33-33 with five minutes left in the third period and Nowitzki struggling, Herber took the load upon his shoulders and drained a three-pointer.

 

After a long two-point jumper, Herber then made a lay-up and another three-pointer to score 10 of Germany's final 13 points in pulling ahead 46-37 going into the fourth period.

 

Marco Mordente and Belinelli both hit three-pointers as Italy closed to within 48-45 with six minutes left in the game, but Nowitzki drained back-to-back treys to give Germany another seven-point cushion - 54-47.

 

Germany's lead was back down to 54-52 when Herber came up big again with his third long bomb of the night for a 57-52 advantage.

 

Italy tried to come back in the final minute but Nowitzki hit two foul shots with 33 seconds left and Pascall Roller drained four free throws in the final 16 seconds.

 

Germany meet world champions and hosts Spain in the quarter-finals.